Not Alone Anymore
by bean15
Summary: The fairies are getting ready for autumn when a new arrival comes to shake things up for a certain fairy-dust-talent sparrow man. The plot thinkens when Terence is kidnapped! But by who? & how does this new arrival fit into things? Tink/Bobble Terence/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Haven't written anything in a while… been very busy at college. Sorry! I promise I'll get back to my other work eventually, but I just saw the Tinker Bell movie, and read some of the books, and fell in love with Pixie Hollow!**

**Here's a Brand-New story for Tink and her friends in Pixie Hollow, kind of Terence-centric, mostly because I think he doesn't get enough love, especially in the movie. (Even though my friend Bella and I both **_**know**_** his five minutes of screen time were the most important five minutes in the entire movie… Bella, you know who you are… =D love ya, girl)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Tinker Bell… I'm pretty sure Great Ormond Street Hospital still has the rights. Sir J. M. Barrie gave them all the rights to Peter Pan and all related story material when he died. Nice guy. HOWEVER: I do own Andromeda, Lysander, Quicksilver, Nemesis, and all the other "dark fairies". They are mine. **

**By the way, for those of you who don't know, or haven't read my other work, I begin every chapter with a random fact. I think that if you're going to blow off homework or any number of other useful things to read fanfiction (which I do quite a lot) then you should learn something.**

**Random Fun Fact: pearls melt in vinegar. **

**Chapter 1!!!!!**

Once upon a time, a sweet little baby named Emma was born to the de Lacey family. She was charming and kind, with a lovely mouth and beautiful green eyes, and her parents loved her very much. Her first few days of life were wonderful, but they contained no events out of the ordinary.

But on April 23rd, something extraordinary happened. On April 23rd, when her mother woke her up in the morning, Emma de Lacey laughed for the first time. Although her mother could not see the laugh, it certainly was there.

The laugh floated happily through the open window and over the beautiful gardens outside the de Lacey home, and it picked up a tiger lily blossom as it flew through the air. The laugh made its way towards Never Land, and the island moved to accept it, for Never Land knew this laugh was special. The island also instinctively knew that this laugh would be needed sometime very soon.

On the island itself, the Never Fairies were busily beginning their preparations for autumn. There were still a few months to go before autumn was to be brought to the world, but still the fairies worked.

The minister of autumn surveyed the scene happily. Quicksilver, his pride and joy, was a fast-flying and wind talent fairy, and she was the best for bringing that wonderful brisk autumn breeze to the world. Here she was, practicing her talent, much to the dismay of the summer fairies beneath her, used to very warm weather. She laughed as they shook their heads at her talent, and though they teased her for her quick spirit and breezy personality, they were glad of her skills.

The other fairies and sparrow men were hard at work in their own realms, garden talents in the gardens and fields, water talents in the brooks and rivers, and all manner of other fairies toiled elsewhere.

A garden talent named Rosetta gently wiped her perfect face on a leafkerchief after a hard day of work. As the garden talents began to leave for the day to take some well-deserved rest, Rosetta thought of her friend Terence, a fairy-dust-talent sparrow man. Terence shared his talent with no one, a rarity in Pixie Hollow. And although he never complained, Rosetta often suspected he was a bit lonely.

After a quick minute of thought, Rosetta finished cleaning up her area, then flew to the dust well to see how Terence was doing today. He was sitting on a overhanging branch, with a pine needle and paper, probably making a list of things that needed to be done before the change in seasons.

Rosetta had once asked him why he made so many lists. He told her it was because he often had no one to talk to, and lists were both useful and a good way to pass the time. This had been one of her first conversations with Terence, even though she had known him for over one hundred years. He hadn't meant it to come out as anything other than a statement of fact, but Rosetta had taken it to heart, and shortlt after this conversation, she had begun visiting Terence every few days, just to talk. She'd gotten to know him, and had discovered he was actually quite fun. He wrote poetry, another way to pass the time, and he knew things about every fairy in Pixie Hollow. "If you listen when they come to get their daily ration of pixie dust, you'd be amazed at the things you might hear," he'd said with a laugh.

Today when Rosetta saw him making his "autumn to do" list, she smiled, and remembered their first conversation. Terence was a sweet little daisy top, and he didn't deserve to be alone.

Terence suddenly stopped writing, as he felt someone's eyes on him. He looked up and smiled. "Fly with you, Rosetta. How are you?"

"Fly with you as well, Terence. I'm just peachy, how 'bout you?"

"I'm all right. It's been pretty quiet around here today, so I've had time to work on my lists for the season."

"Terence, don't you ever stop working and just have fun with your friends?" Rosetta had only meant it as a joke, something she would say to anyone who was working too hard, but she stopped cold at the look on his face. She knew that few fairies or sparrow men in Pixie Hollow had bothered to befriend the dust keeper. Not to mention Terence's past attraction to Tinker Bell, who had been dating her fellow tinker-talent Bobble for the past three seasons.

Terence had begun to think that Tink cared for him, but at the celebration ball last winter, when Terence had spent the last three weeks working up the courage to ask Tink to dance, he had seen her kissing Bobble in the starlight garden.

That same night, he'd overheard Fawn and Silvermist talking about Tinker Bell and her new relationship, which, Terence discovered, was not so new. It had hurt him that Tink hadn't shared her relationship with him, even worse when she hadn't told him the next day. Eventually, he got it out of her, and eventually, he began to get over his feelings, but not without a cost. He had come to believe, as the only dust-talent left, he was destined to be alone.

Rosetta silently berated herself for reminding Terence of that moment, but at the look on his face, she resolved to help him lift his spirits. She gently touched his shoulder. He looked up at her, surprised. "Terence, you're not meant to be alone. Oh, don't worry sweet pea, you'll find someone soon. You will…"

He grinned sheepishly. "Are you trying to reassure me, or yourself, Rose?" She playfully hit him on the shoulder, but before he could retaliate, a commotion on the ground stopped them.

He went over to the edge of the well and called down to the fairies and sparrow men below. "What's going on?"

"See for yourself!" said a garden talent fairy, and pointed to the sky. Terence and Rosetta looked up and saw a flower floating in the wind. Rosetta frowned. "What's so special about a flower in the wind?" Then Terence heard it. "Listen, Rose. It's a laugh! Wonder where it came from… it's beautiful." Rosetta looked closer, and as a garden talent she knew she was looking at a rare and beautiful flower.

Terence grinned for real now, his momentary sadness forgotten. New arrivals were his favorite. He tried to help himself, but he always hoped that one might be a dust talent, like himself. He shook his head, dispelling that notion. No use getting disappointed again.

He flew up to a single shelf near the well and took a chalice down to the dust below. He carefully filled the chalice with the precious pixie dust, and he and Rosetta flew quickly to the arrival ceremony. The questions on their minds were shared by every fairy and sparrow man in pixie hollow. Who was this new arrival, and what would their talent be?


	2. Andromeda

**Hey everyone! Two chapters in a row… in one day! It's been a while since I did that… plot bunnies just wouldn't leave me alone. **

**I won't keep you waiting… I know you're just as anxious to learn about the new arrival as me… oh wait, I already know all about her… ;-) Ok, I'll just write the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Same as previous chapter. Don't own Tink or related material… do own Andromeda, Quicksilver(shared with my bestest buddy Bella), Lysander, Nemesis, and other dark fairies. **

**Random Fun Fact: ****Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.**

**Chapter 2!!!**

**As fairies and sparrow men alike began to gather in the courtyard, Terence began to get nervous. He really did hope, even though he knew he was setting himself up for disappointment, that this newcomer would be a dust talent, like him. It would be so nice just to have someone to talk to. Rosetta was wonderful, and she had been coming to see him a lot. She'd even brought her other friends from time to time. He had a sneaking suspicion she was trying to keep him from getting too lonely. He appreciated her for it, but he still felt as though something was missing. **

**He sighed, then jumped slightly as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and bowed slightly when he saw that it was Queen Clarion, ruler of Pixie Hollow. "Are we ready for tonight, Terence?" she said in her calm regal voice. He nodded, not trusting his voice right now.**

He looked up and saw Vidia, another fast-flying talent fairy guiding the tiger lily blossom down toward the altar. She was looking disappointed that she had to be doing this. It wasn't that Vidia didn't like having power over the creation of most fairies in Pixie Hollow, it was just that a few seasons ago, this very act had created Tinker Bell… and Vidia and Tink certainly didn't get along well.

Terence looked to where the other fast flyers sat, and Quicksilver waved at him. He smiled back and nodded to the chalice, silently telling her why he could not wave back. Quicksilver was one of the few fairies who had bothered to get to know him. She'd only been in Pixie Hollow for about a hundred years, but she had always made time for Terence, and for that he respected her. Quicksilver grinned at Terence, shook her head, then pointed back at the altar. Terence turned and saw that the beautiful pink and orange tiger lily was making its final descent. As it gently touched down, Terence rose and flew over it. He gently poured the entire chalice of dust over the beautiful flower, then landed a few inches away and watched as the flower transformed into a beautiful fairy.

She was hunched over, but she slowly began to straighten up. As she stood, every fairy and sparrow man in Pixie Hollow looked on in wonder. There was something incredible about watching a fairy come into existence. As the new fairy stood up, Terence looked at her, really looked. She had long blonde hair that fell down her shoulders in soft curls, pale skin, and small dainty hands.

She stood up, and she happened to turn in Terence's direction. As she turned to look at him, he saw her stunning sapphire blue eyes, and he smiled shyly at her. She smiled back, and he blushed.

"Welcome, little one," said Queen Clarion. "Born in laughter, clothed in cheer, happiness has brought you here. Welcome to Pixie Hollow. I trust you found your way all right?"

"Yes," said the new fairy. Her voice was like music, bright and lyrical, but sweet and spunky somehow. "Now," said Queen Clarion, "let's see about those wings." The Queen gently took the tips of the new fairy's wings and gave them life. They looked large for such a delicate fairy, but she handled them well as she flew around the queen in a small circle. She landed and smiled, pleased with herself.

All around the new fairy, mushrooms began popping out of the ground. "Fairies, bring forth the talents."

Several fairies flew to the mushrooms and placed their talent objects upon them. The new fairy looked nervous, and turned back to Terence. He smiled reassuringly at her and gestured to the mushrooms. She spoke again, and said, "What do I do?"

Queen Clarion smiled. "Go to the mushrooms, little one. Find your talent."

"How will I know?"

"You'll know."

The new arrival took a deep breath to steady herself and began to walk the circle. But unlike every other fairy he'd ever seen, she walked counter-clockwise, not clockwise. A few other fairies noticed this, but they didn't say much. The new fairy passed the flower, the whirlwind, the ball of light, and the snowflake with no results. Terence gasped. She was nearing the dust-talent mushroom. She might actually… but Terence shook his head. No, there was no use in setting up the disappointment. When she came to the cup of pixie dust, she smiled. Terence held his breath. She bent over to look at the substance, and as clearly intrigued, but it didn't move up to encircle her and lift her off the ground like it had with Terence.

She was still looking at the magical dust when he heard a soft sigh of a broken heart. She looked up from the cup and saw Terence, almost on the point of tears. Her heart went out to this sparrow man, even though she did not know him, nor did she know the cause of his sadness. She stood up and went to help him, but on her way she passed the leaf that marked the healing talent fairies, and the dewdrop of the water talents. Both began to follow her and glow brightly. At the unexpected light behind her she turned around and both talent objects intertwined and moved to her hands, where they shone white.

Fairies and sparrow men alike began to buzz with whispers. Two talents? Queen Clarion went to the new fairy and took her hand. "Today is an extraordinary day after all. This new arrival has a talent I have not seen for many centuries. She is indeed a healing talent, but she can use the power of water to aid her, and she will be gifted in difficult healings, some which may never have been attempted." At this, Queen Clarion turned to the new fairy and said, "You will be a great asset to us all, Andromeda."

Andromeda smiled at her name. She instinctively knew it meant protector of men, _an apt name for a healer_, she thought. As the healers and water talents came forward, she looked back over her shoulder. She wanted to make sure the sad sparrow man was all right. Her eyes found him quickly. He smiled at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Before she could go to him, fairies and sparrow men from other talent guilds had come to meet her and pay their respects.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rosetta saw Terence off to the side, picking up his chalice and other things, getting ready to fly back to the well. _Oh no you don't_, she thought. She quickly landed by his side, and said, "Terence, just where do you think you're going?"

Without looking up, Terence replied, "I'm going home." Before Rosetta could answer, he said, "Rosetta, this isn't for me. She's new, everyone else is dying to meet her, she'll see me soon enough tomorrow morning."

"But you're dying to meet her too, daisy top! Don't give me any of that, I saw the way you were looking at her during the ceremony. And don't tell me you look at all new fairies that way. And don't tell me that you weren't wishing for her to be a fairy-dust-talent like you. And don't—"

Terence put up a hand. "Rose, you've taken away any possible argument I could have given. I know you don't like it, but I know from experience how it would turn out. Please, I can't take the disappointment anymore." Before Rosetta could say anything else, Terence turned and took off for home.

_I'll fix that_, thought Rosetta. She made her way over to Andromeda and exchanged pleasantries. Rosetta stood by her side as she met countless fairies and tried to remember all their names. Rosetta smiled as Quicksilver came over and introduced herself. After the two had met, and others approached Andromeda, Rosetta pulled Quicksilver aside and told her about her plan to get Andromeda and Terence together. Quicksilver knew how lonely Terence was, perhaps better than anyone in Pixie Hollow, ad she heartily approved. She too had seen the way Terence looked at Andromeda.

As the receiving line ran down, Andromeda sighed. Quicksilver smiled, and said, "Bet that was tiring."

"Sure was. I never thought there were so many fairies in Pixie Hollow."

Quicksilver grinned. "But there's one you didn't meet."

"Of course," said Andromeda. "The sparrow man who was standing near Queen Clarion. The one who looked sad." Rosetta and Quicksilver exchanged glances. Andromeda remembered Terence out of all the fairies in Pixie Hollow. This was good, perfect for their match-making scheme. "We can take you to meet him," said Rosetta. "We know where he lives."

"Why was he so sad?" asked Andromeda. Quicksilver frowned. "That he'll have to tell you himself."

Andromeda nodded.

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Terence was extremely angry with himself as he put away his cups and chalices from the day. "How could I have let myself get so hopeful? So excited? Of course she wouldn't have been a dust keeper like me, they never are. And how could I even let myself think about her like that? After Tink I thought… but I guess I'll never learn, will I? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Ouch!" Terence had kicked the wall of the tree in his anger and instantly regretted it. The kick sent a jolt of pain through his ankle and knee, causing him to jump backward and knock over his chair.

A voice sounded from behind him, and hearing it and knowing the owner, he groaned. "Well, I do think kicking a tree was kinda dumb for someone your size, but I wouldn't exactly call you stupid," said Quicksilver. She frowned. "Then again, I probably would, but that's just the kind of fairy I am."

"Hello Quicksilver," said Terence, grumpy. "And to what do I owe this visit?"

"You didn't meet the new arrival yet."

_No, _he thought. _She could not have said that… Andromeda couldn't have seen that pratfall… worse, she couldn't have heard what he said… unless all of Never Land was out to get him… Andromeda wasn't really here…_

"Are you all right?" said a sweet musical voice. _Of course… she's here._ Terence turned a bit to face her, and saw her pretty face wrinkled in concern. "I'm all right, just a little upset, that's all."

"Why?' she asked as Rosetta helped Terence off the floor. Quicksilver opened her mouth to answer. Terence paled, and before Quicksilver could say anything, he said, "Because I kicked a tree, and it fought back." Andromeda laughed. It was a beautiful sound. Terence would have gotten lost in the beauty of it if he had not chosen that exact moment to put his hurt foot on the ground.

"Yeow!" He yelped in pain, and fell backwards again, but this time Quicksilver caught him. "Here big guy, why don't you rest for a while, and keep off that foot." Terence groaned. "This'll take days to heal."

"So just call a healer," said Rosetta.

"They've all gone to bed, Rose. And you know how this stuff works. If they can't get to it early, they can't help."

"Well, I can think of one healer who hasn't gone to bed," said Andromeda with a smirk. At their blank looks, she grinned. "Me, guys. I can fix this." Terence blushed. He knew healers needed direct contact with skin to heal, and he was already embarrassed enough after his fall. "No, I can't ask you to do that, I'll be fine."

Andromeda shook her head. "No, you won't. At best, that's a bad sprain, but it looks like there might be hairline fractures in a few of your ankle bones, maybe a tear in a ligament that connects to your knee. You need that fixed." The three stared at her. "How do you know all that?" asked Quicksilver. Andromeda smiled. "It's kind of my specialty." Terence knew he wasn't going to get out of this, and it really did hurt. He knew the risks of an injury healing improperly, and knew that it was better to get the embarrassment over with as quickly as possible. "All right," he said.

She knelt by his ankle at the side of his chair and used her delicate hands to her advantage in gently removing Terence's boot. He barely felt a thing. She rolled up the leg of his dark red trousers. It was lucky for Terence that she was looking at his ankle, because his face was about the same shade as his pants. Her quick fingers moved lightly over his ankle and calf, telling her where the trouble spots were. He completely forgot Rosetta and Quicksilver, which was also lucky, as they had left after only a few minutes, wanting to get the two alone.

"By the way, I'm Terence."

Andromeda looked up from his ankle and smiled that beautiful smile of hers. "Andromeda. But you already knew that."

"I did. Everyone knows you."

"Except you. You didn't stay. Why?"

There were many questions there, the ones she asked and the ones she didn't. Terence decided to be honest and tell the truth. At least most of the truth. "I'm the only fairy-dust-talent in Pixie Hollow. I guess I hoped you'd join me. I always hope the new arrival will be like me, and I'm always disappointed." Terence sighed. "But I guess it's a good thing you're a healer, right?" She grinned. "Right. I'm sorry I'm not a dust keeper like you, but I can try to make it up to you."

"You already are."

"No, I mean I'll come and see you so you won't be so lonely."

"Have you been talking to Rosetta?"

"No, well, yes, but not about you. As a healer, I'm sensitive to emotion." She looked at him seriously. "I know you've been hurt Terence. I wish I could fix that too."

"What do you mean?"

"The heart. The one place I can't fix. Your ankle on the other hand…" She gently but firmly placed her hands on either side of Terence's ankle and concentrated. The broken bones resealed and the ligament stretched itself and reattached. Terence rotated his ankle. "Wow. Thanks, this is incredible. Queen Clarion was right about you." Andromeda blushed. "Thanks Terence." She looked around and saw that her two friends had left. "Well, I… I should probably go and… you know, get some rest. I'll probably have a busy day tomorrow."

Terence spoke before he knew what was happening. "Can I take you home?" He bit his lip. _He shouldn't have said that, he shouldn't have said that, He shouldn't…_

"I'd like that."

Barely aware of what he was doing, he took her arm and they flew together away from the dust well toward the healer's grove. Terence let her lead, as he knew she would not have to be told which house was hers. She knew, and they touched down just outside the door. "Thank you, Terence."

"Thank you, Andromeda. Without you, I wouldn't be standing here right now." Then Andromeda did something Terence never would have expected in his wildest dreams. She seemed to think about it for a split second, then she stood on tiptoe and threw her arms around his shoulders in a hug. It only took a second for Terence to realize what was happening, but as soon as he did, he hugged her back. His mind was telling him that it was a bad idea, but his arms didn't listen, and his heart didn't care.

Her cheek was touching his, and she whispered in his ear, "Call me Andy."

"Mmhmm," he sighed. After a moment, they both let go. "See you tomorrow, Terence."

"See you tomorrow, Andy."

They waved, she went inside, and Terence flew back to his home in the Pixie Dust tree, looking forward to tomorrow for the first time in a long time.


	3. The Dark Ones

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay on this chapter… got busy with homework… **

**By the way… I know there have been 40 hits on this story… but only a few reviews… those numbers don't match up guys. Come on, you know how cool it is to open your inbox and have a review. Click the little green button… you know you want to. =D**

**This chapter's fun fact is for my faithful friend Bella. **

**Random Fun Fact: ****The "Spanish Flu" of 1918, which killed at least 50 million people world-wide, originated in Kansas, not Spain.**

**Chapter 3!!!**

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_Almost 3 months later…_

Terence woke up again with a smile… this had been the pattern for the past few months. _Since Andy came_, he thought. His smile grew, as it always did when he thought about her. Unfortunately for Terence, Rosetta had noticed the way his smile grew around Andy, and she was quick to point out that she was aware of his feelings for her.

Quicksilver had also noticed Terence's unspoken feelings for Andy, and she was much more vocal about her feelings. She would constantly badger Terence about telling Andy how he felt. Terence often had to invent stories to cover up her antics, as Quicksilver had an annoying habit of bringing up the subject as Andy was flying up to talk to Terence, and it made the issue far more complicated than it had to be.

Terence would always invent excuses for both Rosetta and Quicksilver, but he never told them the real reason. After what had happened with Tink, he feared rejection above all else. He may not have been so worried about Andy, as she did make a point of flying to see him at least twice every day, and she always seemed thrilled to see him, but there was one problem. Lysander.

Lysander was a light talent, nearly as old as Terence, and he was every shy sparrow man's nightmare. He was tall, dark, and handsome, with a deep voice, chocolate eyes, and a smile that knocked the wings off every fairy in Pixie Hollow. He was also very outgoing, and never missed an opportunity to brighten someone's day. Terence had seen them together often during the last few months, and they were always laughing.

All these memories of the past few months flashed through Terence's mind as he got out of bed and got ready to give out the morning's rations of pixie dust. He flew to the well and rummaged around his shelves to find a pixie dust cup.

"Boo!" Terence was scared so badly he fell out of the air and landed on the floor of the tree hard. He rubbed his back as he stood and said, "Quicksilver, you could scare my wings off doing that!"

She didn't answer for a minute, as she was doubled up in laughter. When she caught her breath she said, "I know, that's why I do it. No one jumps as much as you though," she added as an afterthought. "I'm so glad you noticed," muttered Terence. "Why are you here so early?"

"To convince you to finally sweep Andy up in your arms and confess your eternal undying love to her," she said in a high falsetto voice. Terence frowned, not amused. "Uh huh. Why are you really here?"

Quicksilver grinned. "Queen Clarion wants me to make sure the breezes for autumn next week will be perfect. I was kinda hoping for a little bit more dust than usual, but I didn't want anybody else to get jealous."

"What makes you think I'll give it to you?" Terence said with a grin.

"Because I'm your best friend," Quicksilver said, making her eyes sparkle and giving Terence her best pleading face. He groaned. "Silver, you know I can't resist the face… fine. I'll give you the extra dust. But I'd better not hear from anyone else that you got more."

Quicksilver batted her absurdly long lashes. "Would I do such a thing?"

"Yes."

She shrugged. "Fair deal." As Terence began to pour her daily dust plus extra over her head, she started talking again, but this time about Terence's least favorite subject. "Seriously Ter, when are you gonna tell her? I know you care about her, and don't tell me you don't. And don't walk away from me when I'm lecturing you." Terence did stop, but he turned back to Quicksilver with sad eyes. "You're right. I do care about her. But that's exactly what would make it hurt so much if she didn't feel the same way."

"Terence, when are you gonna stop being blind and see that she cares about you too? How many more times does she have to heal you?"

Terence grudgingly grinned. So Quicksilver knew that he did, sometimes, on occasion, intentionally hurt himself so he could go see her in healer's grove. No matter how busy she was, she always dropped whatever she was working on to help him, even if it was just a scrape.

Quicksilver's voice brought him back to reality. "For serious, Ter, she must think you're the clumsiest sparrow man she's ever met." At Terence's fierce blush, she added, "But she still seems to like you anyway. Terence, she left me once when I had a broken wrist to heal that scratch on your hand, I mean, what else does the girl have to do?"

Terence opened his mouth to retort back, but at the sound of other voices he quickly made a slashing motion with his hand. He did not want the rest of Pixie Hollow to know anything about this. For once, Quicksilver let the matter drop.

The voices were Andy and Lysander, coming to get their dust for the day. Lysander's was a completely level cup, but Andy's was a bit more. Quicksilver said it was because Terence had a crush on her, he said it was because she was a strong healer and due to her high work level, needed the extra dust. They both knew which explanation was the right one.

After Andy and Lysander got their dust, and Lysander left for the light fields, Andy stayed and chatted with Terence while everyone else came to get their dust. Andy and Quicksilver exchanged glances. Andy was the only one who knew that Quicksilver had a crush on Lysander, and the only reason she was hanging out with him so much, besides his natural charms of course, was to bring Quicksilver and Lysander together. In turn, Quicksilver knew about Andy's crush on Terence, and was doing everything in her power to get them together.

Andy looked upon the dust giving scene with mild anger, as she could count on her hands the number of fairies that spoke to Terence, and even fewer spoke to him by name. As sensitive as she was, she had a feeling that not many knew, or had ever bothered to learn Terence's name.

As the line thinned and disappeared, she gave Terence a tight hug and left for healer's grove. Quicksilver grinned impishly at Terence, but he wasn't having any of it. Soon he was alone again in the tree. This morning, he was glad of the solitude, as it gave him space to think about Andy, and the real reasons behind why he wouldn't tell her how he felt about her.

* * *

The day passed without any major event, good or bad, and ended with Queen Clarion's traditional pep talk. They had exactly one week left until autumn was to be brought to the world. The fast-flying talents, the art talents, and the harvesters cheered the loudest, as this was their season to shine.

During the ceremony, Terence's attention was split between Andy and Quicksilver. He thought about what Silver had told him that morning. _Seriously Ter, I just want you to be happy._ Andy really did make him happy. And she did put aside her own work to fix his problems, always. And she did smile every time she saw him. Always. The fear of rejection was certainly a potent threat, but Silver was right, he couldn't ever truly be happy unless he let go of that fear and took a leap of faith.

As Queen Clarion finished the ceremony, Terence got up, stretched his wings, and prepared to go to Andy and tell her the secret he'd kept under wraps for the last three months when he saw her stretch herself and yawn. He knew she hated yawning in front of others, for fear they would think she was bored with them. _She must be extremely tired to be yawning like that,_ Terence thought. He sighed. _I'll just tell her in the morning when she comes early for pixie dust. Besides, that'll give me time to figure out what I'm going to say. _A little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Quicksilver said, _How 'bout you say 'I love you,'? Keep it simple, stupid._

Terence shook his head to clear these thoughts. The last thing he needed was to be distracted by thoughts of Andy when he was flying. The last time that happened, he'd crashed into a tree, and it wasn't on purpose. That had really hurt. He'd cracked three bones on his arm and a couple of ribs. He'd been very lucky no hawks had been around, as he wasn't found until a few hours after the crash. It was also lucky that Andy was now in Pixie Hollow, because after a few hours, no other healer could have fixed him. But Andy had him right as rain in a few minutes. Quicksilver was right, she probably did think he was more that unusually clumsy. But if it meant that he got to spend more time with her, Terence was all right with Andy believing him to be the clumsiest Never fairy she'd ever met.

With thoughts of tomorrow morning churning his stomach, Terence made it home quickly, and got ready to spend the night trying, unsuccessfully, to fall asleep, but too nervous to actually relax at all. As he cleaned up his work from the day, he got the sensation several times that he was being watched. He shook it off, and attributed it to his nervousness about Andy, or Quicksilver's habit of jumping out from behind things to scare him for her own enjoyment.

After nearly a half hour of trying to rid himself of the feeling, he spun around expecting to see Quicksilver, but instead came face to face with three fairies he'd never seen before, but had heard much about.

They all had skin black as a stormy night sky, dark violet blue hair, and scarlet eyes. They were at least a half inch taller than he was, even though they were all female, and two of their upper teeth came to a slight point. These were night fairies. Dark, evil beings only known to Never fairies through the story-telling talents. There were believed to be only a few left on the island, as they were created when a baby cried in anger, and were rare. To Terence's knowledge, no one in Pixie Hollow had ever met one, let alone three.

He tried hard to keep himself from trembling, as he knew from a story talent named Tor that these fairies took advantage of fear. The one in the middle took a step toward Terence, and he flinched. "Look Nightshade, Vera, he moves." Her voice was like the purring of a cat, but far more dangerous. "Do not be frightened, little one. We have no intention of fighting you."

Terence looked up. "You don't?"

The middle one laughed, a sound that sent a chill up Terence's shoulders. "No. We don't. We come with a request. The blue rocket flower, our source of power, is becoming extremely rare on the island. We have two of our small coven that are extremely ill, and we need magic to heal them. All we ask is a small amount of pixie dust to save their lives. Sparrow man, will you help us?"

Terence thought hard and fast. He had been taught from his first days that these fairies did nothing but lie, cheat, and steal from everyone but their own. But the middle fairy had said that two of their kind would die if he didn't help them. Not to mention their wrath if he didn't. He was sure that these three could easily force him to comply with their "request" but so far they hadn't. This had to speak for the truth of their tale.

Terence took a deep breath. The fairy in the middle seemed to stand still as she waited for his answer. "All right. I'll help you."

"Thank you, Sparrow Man."

"My name is Terence," he said, without thinking.

"Thank you, Terence. I have one more request. We have no sack to carry the dust, as we were not sure if you would oblige us. If you could provide us with one, we would be grateful." At first, Terence thought it was strange that they had brought no gunny sack, but the explanation seemed to work for him. He flew up to the top shelf over his small, makeshift desk to get a sack he rarely used anymore, as it was old, and he had better ones. But, as he was unlikely to ever get this sack returned, he chose his oldest one. As he reached for it, he was suddenly spun through the air and crashed into the walls of the tree.

As he groaned on the floor, he heard a male voice. "Were you ever going to make your move, Eleonora?"

"I was waiting for the opportune moment, Fade." Suddenly, Terence understood. This whole bit had been a charade, a distraction, but what did these creatures want? He started to get up, but he found himself dangling upside down by one foot. He tried to fly away from the invisible grip, but he couldn't move his wings.

"They are frozen, little one," said the one called Vera. "My specialty," she smiled cruelly. Terence shivered, then searched for the male, the one called Fade. If he was going to have a chance, he hade to know where they all were. The force around his ankle suddenly contracted, making him gasp in pain. Fade came into focus, holding Terence's right ankle in his fist. Terence knew why this one had his name. Terence opened his mouth to give the dark fairies a reason to leave him alone, that undoubtedly would have sounded braver than he felt, but before he could get any words out, Fade drove his enormous fist into Terence's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He pulled his fist back again, but Nightshade spoke up. "Enough, Fade. Let us take what we came for." Fade growled, but didn't hit Terence again. Instead, he dropped him to the ground. Terence felt the tip of one of his wings bend and crack beneath his own weight and grimaced. With his wings frozen, the damage would no doubt be greater. Then, Nightshade's words registered. The dark ones had come here to take something.

Before he could begin to think what, Nightshade snapped her long, thing fingers, and a coil of smoke quickly wrapped itself around Terence, from his ankles to his shoulders. He struggled, but it was impossible. Not only was it impossible to get a grip on the smoke that bound him, but every time he struggled, the smoke seemed to instinctively tighten painfully around him. His magic was useless against these.

He mustered up the last dredges of his courage, and said, "Whatever you've come to take, you won't get away with it!" He had meant to sound intimidating, but it was difficult to manage with frozen and cracked wings as he lay tied up on the floor. At this, all four dark ones laughed, and again Terence involuntarily shivered. That sound was evil. "Don't you understand?" said Fade. "Pathetic little sparrow man. We've come to take you."

Terence's eyes widened in shock, but before he could retort or yell for help, Nightshade snapped her long fingers again and another smoke coil appeared and wrapped itself tightly around Terence's mouth. Terence tried to alert someone to the kidnapping taking place, but no sound passed through the smoke, no matter how hard he tried. Nightshade seemed angry. "Fade, control yourself."

Fade seemed about to retaliate, but Eleonora stepped between them. It was clear she was in charge of this mission. _Great, now I know I've lost my mind, referring to my own kidnapping as a 'mission'. I've got to get out of this while I still can…_

Vera's foot came down on Terence's already sore ankle as soon as he thought this. She must have read his intentions. As much as he was in pain, from an objective standpoint, he knew these dark ones had been specifically chosen for this, and they'd been chosen well. Vera used her magic to lift Terence into the air, and the four dark ones took off into the night, Terence in tow behind them. Unable to move and unable to call for help, he looked back at Pixie Hollow, at his home. So far, what he knew of the dark fairies was true. If the rest was true as well, he knew he was not likely to ever return to Pixie Hollow. A single tear fell from his eyes as this realization hit. Vera must have felt it as well, for she shook him in the air, her way of crushing his spirit. It was certainly working. And his spirit wasn't the only thing that had gotten hurt. He certainly had a fair amount of injuries.

Injuries…_Andy!_ he thought. _What was she going to think when she discovered him missing the next morning? Would she even notice?_


	4. Nemesis

**Hey everyone!!! Don't know about the rest of you, but I've had a pretty good day. Had a long day full of classes at college… and I'm typing this while I am on the phone with my dear friend Bella. Bella, you just laughed at me… **

**But I still love you anyway. =D**

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**Random Fun Fact: ****The cigarette lighter was invented before the match. **

**Chapter 4!!!**

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Andy woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed. She had been exhausted last night after the ceremony, as she'd had many healings that day due to the thistle stampede. She couldn't wait for her pixie dust this morning. It was her favorite time of the day, because she saw Terence. And he always flew close to her. He would hover only a quarter of an inch from her as he gently covered her in pixie dust. She loved being that close to him, but what she loved more than anything was the way he looked at her.

But he never made a move. She set aside time to see him as much as she could, and she did all she could think of to let him know she cared. Her sensitivity allowed her to see Terence blush, and stutter, and trip over both his words and his feet when she was around. Quicksilver's sharp eyes had seen all this too, and she assured Andy that she needed to keep trying with Terence, that she would eventually get to him.

She flew to the dust well, a little later than usual, but not technically late as she tended to get there early most mornings, in order to have some personal time with Terence. But there was a commotion that she was not expecting. At first she thought it was due to the time of day, but when she saw Queen Clarion she was instantly on alert. She quickly flew in and landed next to Quicksilver, Rosetta, and Tinker Bell. "What's going on?" she mouthed. For the first time since she had known her, Quicksilver looked worried. "Terence is missing," Quicksilver said. "We saw him come home last night, but no one's seen him since then. His shelves and desk were a mess this morning. I mean, his desk's always a mess, but this is much worse than usual."

Andy had stopped listening when she heard that Terence was missing, her sensitive mind had begun to pick up on the worries of her friends around her, and the nervousness of the queen. It was the queen's regal voice that broke her out of her solitary worry.

"Andromeda, have you seen Terence since last night?" Andy's breath caught in her chest as she answered, "No, I haven't." She took another breath to steady herself. "Queen Clarion, what's happened to Terence?" The queen's worried silence was enough to tell Andy that the queen didn't know any more than she did, and that worried her.

"I might be able to help," said Beroan, an animal talent sparrow man. He was out of breath. "As soon as I found out Terence was missing, I went out asking all the animals I could find if they saw anything." The gathered group waited for Beroan to catch his breath, but Andy was not as patient. Terence could be hurt. "Beroan, please…" He saw how worried she was and continued.

"The possums said they saw strange fairies approach the tree last night. They heard a scuffle, and when the strange black fairies left, they had someone with them." Here, Queen Clarion interrupted. "Black fairies?"

"That's what the possums said. They said these fairies had black skin and dark hair, and their eyes were—"

"Scarlet," finished Queen Clarion. "The dark ones." There was a whispered buzzing among everyone there. The dark fairies couldn't have taken their dust keeper from them... it could not be true... but what if it was? Andy had to work hard to keep from picking up all the horrible scenarios the other fairies were imagining about Terence and the dark ones. It was bad enough that he was gone; she didn't need to see those thoughts in her mind.

Queen Clarion thought quickly. Terence was the only dust talent, and he was quite powerful in his own right, not that he'd ever used his full potential. It would be a powerful and potent strategy for the dark ones to steal him away from Pixie Hollow. She spoke to Beroan. "Did the possum hear any names mentioned?"

"Yes, your majesty. He heard one. Nemesis," answered Beroan.

"Nemesis," said Queen Clarion. I should have known. Many started to whisper again, and the queen put up her hand. "Fairies, sparrow men, I would ask you to give us patience while we deal with this serious problem. I ask that some of you will stay and determine what is to be done. Quicksilver, Lysander, Andromeda, Beroan, Tinker Bell, and Bobble, will you stay?" They all nodded, and everyone else slowly left. Bobble put his arm around Tink's waist and gave her hand a squeeze. She turned and gave him a quick kiss. They were both worried about Terence.

Quicksilver was worried about Terence as well. Terence was her best friend, and if the stories about the dark fairies were true, she might never see him again. Her breath caught, but before she could get too worked up, she felt someone take her hand. She looked and saw Andy gripping her hand tightly. At first she thought it was to comfort her, but as her eyes searched Andy's face, Quicksilver knew it was for Andy's own comfort. Andy was pale, her eyes were wet, and her bottom lip trembled as if she was holding back tears. Quicksilver squeezed her hand. "We'll get him back, Andy."

"Yes, we will," said Queen Clarion. "We need him. I plan to discuss with you all who is to find him, and what the rest of us are to do in the meantime. Tinker Bell, Bobble, what is the state of the tinker's affairs?" Bobble kept his arm around Tink as he spoke. "Well your majesty, the tinkers are on schedule, but with a shortage of pixie dust, the other talent guilds will likely need us to help for the change in seasons." Tink nodded. "He's right." Queen Clarion nodded as well. "I expected as much. Very well. Tinker Bell, Bobble, you may go." They thanked the queen and flew toward tinker's nook.

Beroan spoke now. "Your Highness, what are we going to do about the pixie dust? Without Terence…" he trailed off. Queen Clarion straightened to her full height. "I will distribute the dust myself. I am not gifted like Terence, but I am certainly capable." They all nodded. They trusted their queen. She spoke again. "Andromeda—"

"I'm going."

"Yes. You are going. You are the best healer Pixie Hollow has ever seen. Nemesis is not likely to spare Terence her wrath. I know her well."

"How do you know her?" asked Lysander, who had been uncharacteristically solemn and silent until now. The queen sighed. "Nemesis and I were created by the same human child." They all gasped. "Yes, it is true. She has tried many times to defeat me, but she has never prevailed. This time however… she has the one sparrow man who can truly give us power. We must get him back."

"I'm going," said Andy again, louder this time.

"Yes dear, you must. Lysander, as one of our best light talents, you must go as well. The way to the dark ones' coven will need your brightness." He nodded. Quicksilver opened her mouth, but the queen anticipated her words. "Quicksilver, I know that you are needed here. I will not make you go. Pixie Hollow needs your wind and your speed. The quest will be much less noticeable if it numbers only two." They all nodded. "Quicksilver, all I ask of you is that you give Andromeda and Lysander a gust of your wind to speed them on their journey to the dark coven."

"Of course, your majesty."

Andromeda was to return to healer's grove to collect her stash of pixie dust she kept on hand for emergency healings, about ten days worth of normal rations. Lysander was to get anything he needed for his end of the journey, and Beroan and Quicksilver prepared food, water and other necessities for a week's flight. Beroan had asked animals along the way to keep watch over the two brave questers, and Bobble, Tink, and the other tinkers had come up with a few things to make the journey easier. They would leave in an hour.

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Terence woke slowly to an unfamiliar room. As soon as he opened his eyes, a wave of pain came rushing back to him from the night before. He groaned, and tried to rub his eyes. But he couldn't. He twisted and saw the smoke still wrapped around his body and it all came rushing back. The dark ones had taken him from Pixie Hollow last night, and they hadn't been too nice about it. He was pretty sure he had some lovely bruises to prove it. He still wasn't sure why they'd wanted him though.

"You're awake." It was a statement, not a question. It sounded playful, but not the way Quicksilver said it when she saw him get up from an afternoon nap. This dark fairy was new to Terence, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was more dangerous than all the others he'd met by the way she was looking at him. She was looking at him like she was the hawk and he was the wounded mouse. _Which I am,_ thought Terence. He tested his voice. "W-what do you want?" Well, his voice came out all right, at least the smoke wasn't wrapped over his mouth anymore. But his voice sounded weak and pathetic, especially compared to the dangerous purr that came from this dark fairy's throat.

She ran her sparkling black nail up the length of Terence's arm, and he shivered. "What do I want?" she echoed. "Hmm, that's an interesting question, buttercup. There are many things I want…" Terence gulped. "Take it easy doll face, the top of my list is the complete destruction of Pixie HOLLOW!" By the end of the sentence she was snarling. Terence did his best to back away from her, but he could barely move. Of course, the dark fairy saw him try to move, and calmed down considerably. "Easy there, angel cake. I don't bite." She smiled, and Terence saw her pointed teeth. "Much," she finished, and laughed. The evil sound made Terence shudder, and the dark fairy laughed again.

"You don't know who I am, do you, baby doll?" Afraid that whatever answer he gave would be wrong, Terence didn't move. Not moving turned out to be the wrong move. Using her formidable magic, she slammed him against the stone wall. "Answer me when I speak to you!"

Terence was in pain, but he managed to whisper, "No, I don't know who you are." At least the smoke ropes had finally done something good. They had spared his still-frozen wings the worst of the crash against the wall. The tall dark fairy glided over to him, crumpled on the floor. She grabbed his chin and yanked his head up to face her. Terence looked into her deep scarlet eyes and saw no mercy there. He felt his heart seem to freeze as she said the words he had dreaded. She was indeed the dark, evil creature he had heard about in the stories told at Pixie Hollow. "I am Nemesis."

Nemesis seemed pleased with how frightened her captive seemed to be. "You've heard of me." _That's an understatement,_ thought Terence. But at the look on her face he quickly answered, for fear of being tossed into the wall like a rag doll again. "Yes. I- I've heard about you." This answer seemed to pacify her. "So Clarion's been telling you all about me." Terence couldn't help himself. "You know Queen Clarion?"

Nemesis smirked. "You could say that, darling. She's my sister." Terence could only look at her in horror, speechless. "I know, right? You'd think she would've turned out better…"

Terence found his voice. "You have no right to connect yourself with Queen Clarion! She's a powerful ruler, one of the most gifted Never fairies the island has ever seen!"

"So were you, hot stuff. Look how you ended up."

Terence was speechless. _I think she may have just complimented me…or threatened me. _"I don't understand. If you want to destroy Pixie Hollow, what good does kidnapping me do? I'll never help you do that."

"Don't you get it, sugar? You are the only dust talent left. And we dark ones number almost fifty. The time is perfect. Your singularity matches perfectly with our strength in numbers. Without you, the Never Fairies cannot possibly stand up to our forces, and we will finally take our places as the magical force on the island. Dear, with you out of the way, everything will be perfect." Terence saw her point, but was desperate to stop her. "They'll come looking for me," he said. "I'm the only dust fairy, you said so yourself. They need me."

"Oh, button… is that what you tell yourself when you can't sleep at night, aching from loneliness?" She slowly stroked his arm again, then his cheek, and turned his face to look at her. "Sweetheart, how many of those fairies even know your name?" Terence flinched. Nemesis knew exactly where to aim her barb in order to inflict the most pain. He found himself hurled into the wall for the second time that day. He bit his lip to keep from crying out. "I told you to answer me when I speak to you," whispered Nemesis. Terence knew her soft voice was more dangerous than her snarling one, so he answered, "Nine." It was barely above a whisper. He knew his wings were mostly protected, but the pain was still fierce.

"Fade!" yelled Nemesis. Terence looked up. Of the dark ones he's met, Fade was the one who seemed to actually take pleasure in hurting him. Besides Nemesis, of course. "Ash! Vera! Cerberus!" Before Terence knew what was happening, four dark ones had entered, and this time Vera was the only female. Ash was lithe and long-limbed, but Terence suspected he was deceptively strong. Fade, he knew, could snap him like a twig, but Cerberus was something else. His features had the classic trademarks of a dark one, but he really looked completely wild. He had no idea what Cerberus might do to him, but he knew he didn't want to find out.

"Yes, Majesty?" they chorused. This was more controlled than he had ever seen Vera and Fade. Terence could only surmise that they were terrified of Nemesis as well. Nemesis grabbed Terence's shoulders in her fingers and dug her sharp nails in. Terence winced. Nemesis spoke. "I think the others of our coven need to repeat the application of their natural magical abilities at a fixed mark, so that they can enhance their proficiency in battle." She stopped, and squeezed Terence's shoulders until he gasped in pain. Fade grinned, and Terence saw it. He didn't like that grin. Vera and Ash just nodded. "Take…it…with you," said Nemesis as she turned away. "I have some planning to do."

"Yes, Majesty."

As the other dark ones turned to leave, Cerberus grabbed Terence around the midsection and hefted him up to carry, squeezing Terence's frozen wings and aching shoulders in the process. Fade heard him wince and laughed. Ash spoke up. "Fade, what did Nemesis mean back there? She was talkin' pretty fancy."

"Yes, Fade. Could you simplify?" asked Vera. Fade turned around to look right at Terence. "We're supposed to take him with us, Vera. He's the mark today." Vera smiled, but there was nothing reassuring in it. Her smile looked more like a fox who had just caught a canary in its den. Ash still didn't understand, and he didn't like being left out. "He's the mark for what, Fade?"

Fade grinned, evil etched in his features. "Target practice."


	5. Target Practice and a Plan

**Hey everyone!!! Bella, I'm so sorry… I said I would update by Sunday night… technically, it still is Sunday night, but you probably won't be able to read it until Monday… sorry. **

**By the way, it seems to me that Bella is the only one reading… I ****know**** that I have gotten more than 130 hits on this story, but I still only have 9 reviews. I hate to say this of my readers, but that's kinda a little bit pathetic and vaguely sad. The last review Bella wrote was about 200 words. (She's kinda excessive… she's my best bud, though. She's allowed to go crazy.) Seriously, if any of y'all are writers yourself, you know how awesome it is to get a review. So please, make my day and review. I am a ****crazy**** busy college student with a term paper due this week, and I can find time to write for y'all. You can find time to review. It takes what, like five minutes? You know you can do it. I believe in you. **

**PS – If y'all review more, you'll stop getting these long, annoying author notes telling you to stop being lazy and review. =D**

**Bella – I love you more than words can say… but you already knew that. Thanks for the story ideas. What would I do without you? *sleep, probably.* lol love you always chica… ~Shail**

**Random Fun Fact: ****Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun, is the largest planet in the solar system, twice as big as all the other planets combined.**

**Chapter 5!!!!!**

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Andy knew that she and Lysander were leaving within the hour, but she couldn't seem to make her hands do what she wanted, or even make them stop shaking. Even though she'd only been in Pixie Hollow for a few months, she'd heard stories of the dark ones (while she was sitting next to Terence of course) and she knew they were evil beings. She thought back to what Queen Clarion had said. _Nemesis is not likely to spare Terence her wrath_. As her sensitive mind thought of Terence, her knees buckled and she fell to the floor.

It was lucky that Quicksilver came in when she did. Another few minutes and Andy's oversensitive mind would have overtaken her. Quicksilver knew that it was worry for Terence that was hurting her. "Andy, snap out of it! We'll get him back, I promise." Andy looked up at her friend with worried eyes. "I need him back."

"I know," Silver said. "But you've got to be at your best when you find him."

"I know," said Andy gravely. They both knew Terence would be hurt when they found him, but neither of them knew how badly.

Forty minutes later, Andy and Lysander were ready to go. Queen Clarion had given them two weeks worth of dust, but they hoped they would only have to use a few days worth. Quicksilver was preparing herself to give them a guided gust of wind that would take them in the general direction of the dark ones' coven, as no one knew exactly where it was. Most hadn't wanted to stumble across it by accident, so few fairies rarely ventured into the dark woods.

Andy had water and food with her as well, and extra water for healing. She knew beyond a doubt that Terence would need her healing hands when they found him, but she wouldn't let herself think about his being hurt… she knew that would hurt their chances of finding him quickly. Her sensitive mind would lead her to him, as she could pick up on the mental vibrations he unconsciously sent out. She could literally feel it in the air when someone was hurt. This would be an indispensable skill for this mission.

Many Never fairies had come to see the pair off, but none was more important than Quicksilver. Lysander and Andy accepted wishes of good luck and speed from Tink, Bobble, Rosetta, Beroan, and countless others, but it was the hug from Silver that gave Andy the fuel she needed to find the strength to go after Terence. Quicksilver hugged Lysander too. It was quick, but tight. Before he let go, she whispered in his ear, "Be safe." He nodded to her, and squeezed her hands. "I'll come back to you. I promise," he said back.

Quicksilver closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she looked at Andy. "Are you ready?"

Andy nodded. "Please."

Quicksilver used every bit of strength and skill she possessed and sent a huge gust at Andy and Lysander, pushing them towards the dark forest with unbelievable speed and accuracy. As she watched their tiny forms recede, Quicksilver crossed her fingers. She missed Terence, and didn't know what she would do without her best friend. He had to come back. He had to.

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Terence groaned and laid his head down on the floor. It was made of stone and it was hard and cold, but at least no one was hurting him. He hadn't thought it would have been possible, but Fade's "target practice" was far worse than he could have possibly imagined. Instead of just Fade, Ash, Vera, and Cerberus, almost the entire coven had turned out for "the game," as Vera called it, and they had all eagerly participated.

Vera had checked his wings to make sure they were still frozen (they were) and she had used her magic to levitate him to a fixed point in the center of a large courtyard. Try as he might, he couldn't move at all from the spot, and the smoke ropes were still wrapped around him, and they tightened every time he moved.

Ash had rung a large gong, and the dark ones had started to come out. When Terence had seen their numbers, he'd gone pale. He'd counted nearly fifty. At Pixie Hollow, they believed there were only a dozen or so dark ones left. He couldn't believe how wrong they had been.

Once they were all out, Ash had rung the gong again, and the attack began. It was regular at first, with the dark ones taking turns, but it had quickly intensified. The dark ones had flung concentrated bursts of their dark magic directly at him. Some had flung other things as well. He learned that some dark ones had special talents, dark talents. He'd been hit with magical punches, smoke and ash bombs that had filled his mouth and nose and made him choke, and one dark fairy had hit him with fire.

Aricia was her name, and she'd shot tongues of flame from her hands at him, and these flames had a minds of their own. Aricia's flames had surrounded him and whipped themselves around his arms, shoulders, and legs with quick burning flashes. Each streak of fire lasted for two or three hits, and the magical blows from the other dark ones tended to hit the spots that had just gotten burned. Terence had felt a sinking suspicion that this was no accident.

Now he lay, bruised and burned, on the floor of what he now knew was to be his "cell" for his time here in the coven. Normally, he hated cold, but at the moment it was actually helping to sooth the pain from Aricia's burns. He wished with all his heart for Andy. He knew she could heal him, even with all his injuries. And, injuries aside, he just wanted to see her face again. Thinking of Andy, he started to smile, then grimaced. Even smiling hurt. He had a dark one named Gambit to thank for that.

The attacks during "the game" had gotten more fierce and more painful by the second, then suddenly, they had stopped. Terence had opened his eyes cautiously, then tensed. By now, he had discovered that silence in the coven often led to impending disaster.

A dark one, huge by fairy standards, at least a full inch taller than Terence, had stepped forward. Many dark ones called him by name, Gambit, and grinning horribly, he had crouched and stood about six inches away from Terence, who was still suspended in the air, wings frozen and arms and legs still bound.

Gambit had crouched, and put his hands into his loose and ripped over shirt. Terence had instinctively tensed, and he had never taken his eyes off Gambit. Gambit had made a small, quick movement with his hands, and if Terence hadn't been watching so closely he would have missed it. He may have missed the hand movement, but he sure hadn't missed that large silver ball packed with evil magical energy that had slammed into the side of his face.

Before he could recover, Gambit took another object from his over shirt and this time he hadn't hid it from Terence. The object was again made of silver, but instead of a ball this one was thin, round and had many razor sharp edges. This one hadn't hit his face, thank goodness, but it had hit his side, and it had sliced through his shoulder, his wing, and the smoke ropes around him.

The moment the ropes were cut, they completely disappeared, and Terence had fallen from the air and crumpled on the ground. _His wings were in agony… wait. Never fairies' wings did not feel pain. Not under normal conditions anyway._ Terence had just discovered the hidden side effect of Vera's freezing charm. Her magic had removed whatever protection his wings might have had, and the tear in his wing from Gambit's silver razor disc was incredibly painful. He had lain on the ground in a heap. The smoke ropes were gone, but he was so badly hurt that he couldn't find the will to move. Not that he would have gotten very far surrounded by fifty members of the dark coven.

Nemesis had felt when the ropes were severed. She knew it was time to call an end to the game. This mark, this Terence, was certainly strong, but a fairy could only take so much. _Then again, _she thought, _you'd be surprised what you can live through_.

She went out to the courtyard to see Terence lying there on the ground, a huge tear in one wing and a gash in one shoulder, not to mention the various other burns and bruises. As she approached, the other dark ones went quiet, and Terence looked up at the silence. He saw Nemesis and shrank back. Who knew what she would do to him. She spoke. "That's enough for today, lovelies. We don't want to burn him out too fast." The dark ones laughed, but Terence shuddered. That meant this was going to happen all over again tomorrow.

Nemesis walked over to where he lay and pushed his with her foot so he rolled over to face her. As he rolled, he crunched his wings underneath him and he cried out in pain. Nemesis saw the tear in his wing and spun on Gambit with a vicious glare in her scarlet eyes. She rounded on him and yelled, "You were not supposed to hurt him this much in the first session! You were supposed to leave his wings alone until I gave you the order! How dare you disobey me?" Gambit shrunk back. Even though he couldn't lift his spirits enough to smile, Terence inwardly grinned at Gambit getting told off like this. It was nice to see his ego shrunk a bit, especially after what the dark one had done to him.

"You didn't tell me not to use the razor disc," he said in a small voice.

"I told you that you could use it ONLY if you could control it!" she yelled.

"I can…" he trailed off, aware that he had just made a huge mistake. Nemesis was silent. "You contradicted me." Gambit's eyes went wide. "No, I—"

"You're doing it again." She said calmly. Terence winced. A calm Nemesis was far worse than an angry one. She slapped Gambit across the face. Terence winced at the noise, then looked at Gambit. For a moment he was still, but the next second he was writhing on the ground in agony, and there were four long blood red streaks across his cheek. They glistened with a silvery white substance, and Terence could only assume that this substance was what was making Gambit writhe in pain. Terence resolved _never_ to contradict Nemesis, no mater how much he believed she was wrong.

Nemesis turned away from Gambit and looked back at Terence. She used her magic to carry him back to his cell and dumped him unceremoniously on the cold, hard floor. She quickly left for the quiet and solitude of her own chambers, where there were no unruly minions or whining prisoners.

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Terence was glad of the silence and solitude. He was used to it, being a solitary dust talent, but here, solitude meant no more additional pain. He focused on a trick that Andy had taught him a few weeks ago when he had skinned his hand playing fairy tag.

"Concentrate on the injury," she had said. "If you can isolate the pain, if you can find the exact spot it's coming from, then you can mentally force it out of your mind and make it hurt less." He had smiled, and faithfully tried it. He would do anything she suggested, simply because she said it. To his surprise, it had worked. "There," she had said. "Now, when you're waiting to see me, you won't be in so much pain."

She had always been attentive to him, and no matter what she said about certain kinds of injuries getting "priority," she had always made time for him when he came to healers' grove, and he'd never waited more than five minutes. When he'd pointed this out, she'd arched an eyebrow in that adorable way of hers that always gave Terence goosebumps and said, "Terence, five minutes that you are in pain is five minutes too long." He'd blushed and stammered, and they'd laughed together.

Terence took himself out of the flashback and looked at the stone ceiling. He took a deep breath and swore to himself that if he ever got out of this mess, he'd tell Andy how much she meant to him, and ask her to be his. He would get out of this infernal place. He had to.

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Nemesis growled and threw a vase at her wall. It shattered quite satisfactorily, and she smiled. Then she remembered that she was angry, and growled again. She'd just received a report from one of her scouts that the Never fairies had indeed sent a party to find Terence and get him back to Pixie Hollow. The two questers were close… too close for comfort, but not close enough that they would get to the coven without notice. At the rate they were going, it would take another two days.

She'd had a report from her scout with numerous details about the questers. She knew their names, and everything about their appearance. She knew they were looking for Terence, and she knew that they had gotten so close so quickly because they'd received help from a wind talent fairy. She also knew that the female, Andromeda she was called, was in love with Terence. And the male, Lysander, had been assuring Andromeda that Terence was in love with her as well.

This could work in her favor. Nemesis grinned. Andromeda did not know that Terence loved her. Nemesis had no doubt that the sparrow man did indeed love the pretty little Never fairy, but if she was insecure enough to doubt his affections, Nemesis could use this to her advantage. She could also use Terence's insecurity. This pretty one obviously showed her affections plainly, but Terence had been to blindly insecure to see it. _If Terence believed Andromeda did not love him… No, wait. Better plan…_

_Get Terence to help me with something, anything… blackmail._ _Threaten Andromeda, and Terence will do anything. _Nemesis had never felt love for anyone or anything, but she understood that much at least. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Terence would do anything to keep Andromeda safe and out of harm's way.

A plan was forming in the recesses of her mind. An evil plan, worse than anything she's ever dreamed of before. Terence was a powerful little thorn in her side. He'd soaked up plenty of dust over the last two hundred years, not that he ever used half of his true potential. Probably too noble… she snorted. _If he became one of the dark coven though… _the possibilities were endless. He would have no scruples about using his power. Not to mention the drop in morale it would cause for the fairies of Pixie Hollow when they saw their precious dust keeper fighting against them in battle. _Battle_, she laughed. _With Terence as a dark one, the Never fairies would have no source of pixie dust. There would be no battle… the coven would win without a fight. _

It was brilliant. But it needed one final piece. A final ace in the hole, a stroke of genius that would crush the spirit of any Never fairy that would dare to fight. Terence would have to become her mate. _Yes, it was perfect. _

Nemesis had noticed the first time she'd seen Terence. He was not bad looking. Actually, he was pretty handsome if you looked. She was amazed that a hot stuff like him was still single. Even more amazed that he seemed to have no self confidence in that particular area. _Oh well_. All the better for her plan.

It was time to go pay at visit to her prisoner… no, her _guest_. She grinned. This was going to be fun…

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Y'all know what to do… click the little green box… it's really not that hard. Terence wants you to review… He might even give a personally shout-out to those of you who decide to give him five minutes of your busy schedules and review the story… don't know. I'm just sayin'…


	6. He Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

**Hey everyone! I know it's been ages since I updated, and I'm sorry… especially to my dear friend Bella, who has seen me through so many plot bunnies and late night phone calls… you are so full of awesome. You make my life complete, really. **

**Hugs,**

**Shail**

**Terence asked if he could contribute to the author note this time around… of course I said yes. I can never say no to him… =D Here's his letter:**

**Hello, all! **

**It's your friend Terence here… Exeterra, I really appreciate your review, not to mention your story featuring yours truly. MusicStar21, thanks. You made Shail smile when she read your review, and for that, I am certainly grateful. BroadwayBabe4, I completely agree with you. College is bad, because Shail can't write on a regular basis… and I really want to know what happens to me! **

**Bella… hmm, what do I say to you? Well, a "thank you for reviewing" is definitely in order, as your reviews are usually above two hundred words. Always appreciated. As to the content of those reviews… let's just say you are too much like Quicksilver in your love of scaring me half to death. But Shail loves you, so I can't complain too much. All I ask is that you stop jumping out from behind things to scare me. However you feel about it, I think it's getting a little old. You may not agree…Anyway, I guess this is just a long way to say thanks for the support, however unorthodox it may be. **

**I was hoping that I wouldn't have to write this next bit, but it seems I have no choice. While I don't like to speak ill of anyone, in this case I feel like I have a responsibility. Those of you who are not reviewing at all, think about Shail in college, writing research papers 10 pages long, working with her friends on their assignments, identifying fossils millions of years old, and trying to find some time in there to sleep. She finds time in her busy schedule to write for you, and all she asks is that you take a few minutes out to review that chapters of this wonderful story (about me) that you've been reading. Seriously, it's really not that hard. **

**To those of you who are reviewing, keep up the good work. To those of you that aren't, please start. It makes Shail so happy when you do. And, just between us, when you don't review, she gets kind of cranky, and she's absolutely **_**no**_** fun that way, if you know what I mean. **

**Anyway, thanks again, everyone. Talk to you later!**

**Fly with you,**

**Terence **

**Random Fun Fact: Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida has the third-largest non-military fleet of watercrafts in the world. **

**Chapter 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

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Andy and Lysander sped forward to the dark woods, hoping to reach them by nightfall. Andy was beside herself with worry for Terence, and Lysander's mind was back in Pixie Hollow with Quicksilver. As they both grew distracted, they instinctively flew lower and asked each other for a brief stop, to which they both agreed. Sander knew he was worried about what was happening at home, but he knew Andy was worse off. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Andromeda, how can I help?" She took a deep breath. "Terence…" she whispered. "I know," said Lysander, and put his arm comfortingly around her shoulders.

"No, you don't!" she said, and shrugged his arm off. "I have no idea where he is, but I know he's hurting. Probably hurting worse than he's ever been hurt before. And I'm not there to fix it. And even if we do find him, I may not be able to heal everything. I- I love him, Sander. You have no idea what it's like to not know if the one you love is safe."

"Actually," said Lysander, "I do."

"Sander, what are you talking about?"

"Andromeda, I am in love with Quicksilver. You are her best friend, and so I never told you how I felt. If I didn't have the courage to tell her, then I certainly couldn't tell anyone else. Tell me the truth, Andromeda. Do you think there is a chance that she could ever learn to love me?" During this speech, Andy had held back a small giggle, but at these words, she cracked a grin. "Sander, she already does. She's loved you for ages."

Flabbergasted, Lysander said, "Then why did she not speak up?"

"Probably for the same reason you didn't. She told me, but no one else. You know how she is… she didn't want to risk showing anything too serious for you until she was sure it would be taken well. I don't care how many fairies swear that Quicksilver's got enough confidence for all of Pixie Hollow, they just can't see how shy she really is."

"Andromeda, does she truly love me?"

"More than you'll ever know."

Lysander smiled. "If Quicksilver could love me half as much as Terence loves you, I will be content forever."

Andy went from a smile to silence in a second. "Sander, please. Don't joke about that."

"Who says I am joking? Andromeda, Terence loves you with all his heart. He wouldn't want me to tell you this, but he is even more shy than Quicksilver. Why do you think he comes to see you every day?"

"Sander, just because he sees me every day doesn't mean he's in love with me. I'm a healer, he sees me to get better."

"And you truly believe he is that… well, accident-prone?"

Andy looked at him skeptically. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Terence has been known to… cause himself minor injuries… so that he can see you. Nothing major, of course. And he would never take away from your real work."

"Sander, are you saying… well… that time he flew into a tree, that was on purpose?!?"

Lysander grimaced. "No, that was by accident. If memory recalls, I believe he said he was thinking of your smile and was distracted, so he was not paying attention to his surroundings."

It was too much. Andy knew that Silver was head over heels for Lysander, but to dare to hope that Terence loved her? To dream that he felt the same way as her? No, it could not be possible. Lysander saw the look on her face and grinned. "Andromeda, I am sure my face held the same look five minutes ago as yours has right now. Believe me, I swear by the second star, Terence is in love with you."

"Well," said Andy with a small smile, "we have to find him now. I have to tell him that I love him, don't I?"

Lysander smiled. "That will be a harder conversation than you imagine. His love is strong indeed, but he remains convinced that, though the two of you may be friends, you could never love him the way he loves you."

"He's right." Lysander frowned, confused. Andy smiled. "I love _him_ more," she answered with a grin. Lysander grinned as well. "I don't think that is possible, Andromeda."

And with renewed hope and determination, they both flew on to the coven in the dark woods, their hearts much lighter. With their happy thoughts to spur them on, they flew much faster and were outside the coven by nightfall. On a mutual decision, they decided the smartest, and safest, course of action would be to wait until morning to locate Terence, and attack if need be. They knew they had no hope at all against the dark ones once the sun had set.

Andy silently begged the spirit of Never Land to keep Terence safe until they could reach him.

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In Pixie Hollow, Queen Clarion was doing her best to oversee her usual duties as queen and to distribute the dust to every fairy and sparrow man. She did reasonably well, but she was not as talented as Terence. Some fairies got a few more grains than a full cup, some a few less. But she was managing.

The tinker fairies were kept busy, hopping from talent to talent, fixing where they could and inventing what they didn't already have. The light talents were busy as well, creating that perfect golden sunset, along with the art talents, working on their wonderful autumn leaves. Every other talent was busy, and feeling run down, as they had more work to do than usual with a new season right around the bend, and less pixie dust than usual.

They were all managing. But they could not manage everything much longer. Another few days, and the season might not begin on time.

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As Terence lay on the cold stone floor of his "cell" thinking about Andy, the door banged against the wall, snapping him out of his thoughts. Terence looked up and saw Cerberus, the wild-looking dark one. He was almost half an inch shorter than Terence, but his hunched stature, his mangy hair, and the crazed expression in his wild eyes made Terence fear him more than what he'd already been through. He knew what the others could do. Cerberus and his powers were a mystery, and Terence hoped it would stay that way.

No such luck. Cerberus looked him over on the floor. This mark was bloody, bruised and battered. He had a huge gash in his right arm, and in his right wing. Cerberus knew what Vera's freezing charm did. This mark must be in terrible pain, if only from the tears and crumples in his wings. But his entire body was covered with bruises and burns. Aricia was one nasty flame-thrower. Cerberus grinned. There was no way this mark was getting away. He'd missed his chance during target practice. He was supposed to have a turn after Gambit had his fun, but Gambit had ended the whole thing. Now nothing would stop him from having a go at this mark.

Terence saw the gleam in Cerberus's wild eyes, and knew what it meant. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and spoke. "Cerberus…" His voice was cracked and quiet from disuse and from pain. But he was determined to stop this monster from hurting him, if he could. But Cerberus was just as determined to hurt him. A low growl escaped his throat. Terence backed himself up, using only one arm, as the other one was throbbing from the huge cut along his shoulder muscles. He found himself hitting the stone wall much sooner than he'd expected.

He tried his voice again. "Cer-Cerberus… come on. Please? You- you don't really want to hurt me do you?" He held his good arm over his face in an attempt to protect it. He saw Cerberus raise his clawed hand for the strike, and Cerberus let out a battle-cry as he brought his claws down. Terence squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the pain, but a voice carried through the stone room. "No, Terence. He doesn't want to hurt you."

Cerberus whirled about, ready to kill this newcomer, but became docile when he saw that the newcomer was Nemesis. She looked at Cerberus, but spoke to Terence. "He doesn't want to hurt you, because if he does, the consequences will be harsh punishment." Cerberus stiffened. Nemesis' idea of harsh was close to murder. He liked having the use of all four of his limbs, thank you very much. He bowed, and left without another word. The mark would have to wait.

Nemesis closed the door gently, and turned back to Terence. "There now, love. Don't be scared. The mean growler won't come back to hurt you any more."

"Maybe _he_ won't, but I can think of a few others who would…" mumbled Terence. Then he shuddered. Nemesis was sure to hurt him for that. But to his shock she just smirked. "You, dollface, have the most wonderful sense of humor." He just sat numbly, looking at her, wondering where the trick was. "And don't worry about any of the others. They won't hurt you again either. I've told them that no one is to harm you ever again."

Terence was shocked. Purely from habit…and good manners, he said, "Thank you."

Nemesis rolled her eyes. "Don't thank me just yet, baby doll." Terence winced. Here it was. The 'bad news'. The something she was going to hold against him, and use as an excuse to pummel him.

Terence chose his words carefully. "To what do I owe this… visit?" Nemesis sighed. "Oh, sweetheart, I feel so horrible. For you to get beaten like that, then to have to feel emotional pain as well! I almost don't want to tell you… but you have a right to know. She's your friend. At least… she was."

Terence gulped. "Quicksilver? What's happened to her?"

Nemesis frowned. "Hmm…I don't know who this 'Quicksilver' is. Actually I was talking about someone named Andromeda." Terence's eyes widened in worry. "Do you know that name, sweetheart?" Nemesis asked. "Yes," whispered Terence. "Please, what's happened. Where is she? Is she all right?"

Inwardly, Nemesis grinned. Terence was obviously in love with her. It would be so easy to get what she wanted. She could threaten to give Andromeda a scrape on the knee, and she knew Terence would do anything.

"Oh darling," said Nemesis. "I'm afraid I've confused you. Of course your little friend is all right. Actually, she's better than all right."

"What are you talking about, Nemesis?"

"Oh, we've been sending our own scouts to Pixie Hollow to see how they've been getting on without you. They're actually faring pretty well. But a certain scout came back with distressing news. A certain friend of yours, his name is Lysander I believe, has been seen repeatedly with a certain Andromeda, and they are believed to be in love. I do recall that my scout even told me they had taken to sleeping out under the stars together," she finished, laying it on thick.

Terence was stunned. "No," he said. "My best friend would never do that."

"Would never do what? Pursue his happiness? Seems like a pretty odd thing to stop a friend from doing, love."

"No," said Terence. "Sander knows…"

"Knows what?"

"He knows I love Andy. More than anything." Terence was so flustered he didn't realize he had just given Nemesis the information she needed to destroy him.

"Well honeycakes, I guess he just doesn't care. On another note, I can see why this Andy fell for him, he's fabulous." Terence nodded. It _was_ true, after all. Lysander was tall and handsome, and rarely shy about his feelings. Terence had overheard nearly every fairy in the Hollow swooning over him as they came for their daily dust ration. These same fairies almost never noticed him, and none of them had ever bothered to learn his name.

Unbidden, a small voice in his mind that sounded suspiciously like Quicksilver spoke, and it said, _Ter, you're not gonna fall for this are ya? For serious, Nemesis has given you more than enough proof that she loves tormenting you. Maybe this is another game._ At this thought, Terence drew upon his remaining courage and spoke up. "I don't believe you."

Nemesis laughed. She literally threw her head back and laughed. She used her formidable magic to dredge up a crystal looking glass, and said, "Look."

Terence did look. He saw Andy and Lysander sleeping in a small clearing under leaf blankets, both with a smile on their peaceful faces under a sparkling mantle of stars.

Terence drew back as if he'd been slapped in the face. Everything Nemesis had told him was true. Andy didn't love him, whatever he'd come to believe. And he was surprised to realize that he had come to believe, over the past few days, that she did care for him. And though he'd considered Lysander a friend, Lysander had obviously not thought the same. He'd known how Terence had felt, and had thrown it aside for his own personal gain.

"There, there darling," said Nemesis. "No tears," as she wiped away the wetness on Terence's cheek. He hadn't even realized he was crying. For the first time in two hundred years, he finally had begun to feel wanted and needed again, and it had all come to nothing.

"Now, sweetie, I feel like I have to do something about this. I hate to see you hurt." Terence was so lost inside that he missed her sarcasm, but not her words. He looked down at the floor.

"Become my mate."

Terence looked up with a start. "What?"

"Become my mate. As a dark one, you could help me to crush those insolent arrogant folk of Pixie Hollow, and teach these two," she gestured at the crystal, "what you're really made of. Show them the mistake they made."

Terence sighed. "I could never harm them."

"Why not? They hurt you."

"Yes, they did. But they're happy. Who am I to come between that?"

"Maybe you think you're no one, but I know how powerful I am, and how much I deserve the crown currently held by my pitiful sister." She paused. "You really don't want to hurt this Andromeda for what she did to you?"

Terence drew a deep breath. "Nemesis, no matter what she's done, I still love her. I think I always will." He rambled on, his caring and trusting nature digging him into this mess even further than he was. "I'd sooner die myself than hurt her."

"All right."

"All right? That's it?"

"Yes. I have the information I need."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Become my mate."

"No! I'll never help you hurt them, didn't I just tell you that?"

Nemesis laughed again, that infuriating 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' laugh. "Oh sugar, you are dense sometimes. It wasn't a request. And it wasn't actually the end of the sentence."

"Then what was the end?" asked Terence warily.

"Become my mate, or Andromeda dies."

Terence went pale. "You wouldn't…" he whispered.

"No, of course _I_ wouldn't. But… accidents do happen. Any of my scouts or warriors could kill her by accident. Or a hawk could go after her. Or… a scout could…_accidentally_…mistake her for a mark, and subject her to a round of target practice…"

Throughout this, Terence had been angrily staring at Nemesis, but at the words 'target practice,' all the fight went out of him. He was acutely aware of his injuries. If he didn't do what Nemesis wanted, Andy would be a mark. He knew Nemesis was good to her word. What had happened to him would be peaches and cream compared to what would happen to her. Andy would die. She was in love with someone else, but she was happy. If he couldn't be with her, all he wanted was for her to be happy. Regardless of this particular noble sentiment, Terence was still hopelessly in love with her, and he would do anything to keep her from pain.

He hung his head in defeat. "All right. I'll… I'll do it. I'll… become your… mate. Just… don't hurt her, please…"

"As long as you hold up your end, dearest. You become my mate, and become a dark one. You do what you're supposed to, and she'll be safe." Terence drew a shaky breath. This would be hell, but it would be worth it, as long as Andy was safe.

"Be ready tomorrow morning, sweetie. Tomorrow morning, you become one of us." With a laugh and a smirk, she left him alone once again.

Terence thought about what he'd just agreed to, and shuddered at his own actions. He knew it was the only way to keep Andy safe, but he still felt dirty. He was in a hopeless situation, and he felt more alone than he'd ever felt in his entire life of over two hundred years.

He had no way of knowing that Andy and Lysander, _not_ in love with each other of course, were mere yards from where he was being held, and were planning a daring rescue set for the very next morning. He had no way of knowing that the smiles he had seen earlier on their faces were due to dreams concerning their _true_ loves. He had no way of knowing that _he_ was the happy thought that had propelled Andy to fly fast enough to be able to surprise the dark one's scouts. Andy and Lysander's arrival was not expected for another day, hence Nemesis' hurry for the ceremony. He had no way of knowing that all of Never Land was working to keep him alive and his soul intact. Never Land knew that without Terence, the balance of power would be dangerously evil, and the island would not let that happen.

Terence knew none of this. All he knew was that his beloved was in danger, and that he was utterly and completely alone. He closed his eyes and wept with all the loneliness of two centuries.

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**Another chapter done! My spring break is soon… I'll try to post another, but I may not get to it for a bit. Sorry again for the long wait between chapter five and this one. I didn't forget you, I promise!**

**Til next time,**

**Shail**

**ps – I love you Bella!!! And so does Terence… I'll see you on Sunday, girl! Toodles, chica. **


	7. Of Battles, Hallucinations, and Home

**Hey everyone! I am soooo sorry for taking so unbelievably long to update, my spring break was so full (and I got to hang out with Bella!) and the end of the spring semester was crazy.**

**Of course, I expected to be able to update during the summer, but I just had to be an over-achiever and take 12 credits worth of classes in 10 weeks… I am exhausted. But you guys have waited long enough… I need to update. **

**Besides, Terence is getting antsy, not that I blame him, about what happens next in the story. So here goes!**

**Bella, this chapter is dedicated to you, as so many of them are. Love you, chica!**

**Random fact: ****The human eye blinks an average of 4,200,000 times a year. **

**Chapter 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

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Throughout the night, Terence tossed and turned, plagued by the nightmares that had become his reality. In his mind, he saw himself as a dark one, evil and power-hungry. He saw Andy and Lysander, holding hands and kissing, blissfully happy in each other's arms. In his dream, Terence flew to Andy to congratulate her on her happiness, but she did not recognize him. No matter what he said, Andy did not remember him or anything he had ever said to her. She was so happy with Lysander that she had forgotten him.

Terence woke and sat up with a start, covered in a cold sweat. Even his body couldn't bear the thought of Andy forgetting him. _'But she had,'_ thought Terence. Well, maybe not truly forgotten him, but she had fallen in love with someone else. Not that Terence could ever blame her. He had never told her how he felt. He knew he was shy, and he knew it was holding him back, but he had never thought that his shyness could have caused this.

He groaned. Sleeping on the hard stone floor was doing absolutely nothing to help his injuries. He wished for Andy again, even though he believed she did not love him. He couldn't bring himself to believe that she could have forgotten him so absolutely. If some miracle happened and she found him in time, he was sure she would at least help to heal him. _But she won't find me_, he remembered. _She's in Pixie Hollow with Lysander._

He shook his head in attempt to clear the nightmares and gripped the wall to help him stand. His weak knees buckled underneath him, and out of habit he used his wings to steady himself. Big mistake. The tear in his wing and the cracks and bends in the wings made them completely useless, not to mention incredibly painful if used.

His ruined wings would not hold him in the air, and he hit the stone floor hard. He cried out in pain. Before he had time to try anything else, Nemesis entered. In three swift steps, she was beside him. She grabbed his hands and yanked him upright. Terence gripped the wall to keep himself steady. "Here to threaten Andy some more?" he said angrily.

"Well cupcake, aren't we feisty this morning."

"What more could you do to me? How could you possibly bring me lower?"

Nemesis smirked. "Good point, angel face. Now, here. Put these on." She shoved a pile of dark violet clothes into his arms, nearly knocking him off balance. His face flushed pink.

"Don't worry yourself, sweetheart. I'll leave."

Terence sighed in relief.

"But I'll be back in twenty minutes, cutie pie, whether you're ready or not."

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Andy woke with a start. She had been having a lovely dream where she had been nestled in Terence's strong and loving arms, but her sensitive mind had picked up on Terence's pain. The moment she had woken up was the moment Terence had crashed to the floor due to his ruined wings. She felt his pain almost as if it were her own. Lysander rose and helped Andy to her feet. He did not have her sensitive mind, but he understood what her mind was doing. He also knew that without someone to ground her in reality, she would slip into the pain.

"Andromeda, come back. Terence needs you."

She shook herself out of her mind. "Thanks, Sander." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I think that you and I should ready ourselves to fight these monsters."

She nodded, and he brought out armor that he had somehow found space for in their journey. "Andromeda, you can fly fast that I can, so you should carry that dust pouch. Whatever happens, I will protect you."

Andy smiled, but hers didn't reach her eyes either. She knew beyond doubt that Sander would protect her, but she also knew that Sander would give up his life if he thought it was necessary, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing her friend.

Less than half an hour later, they were both clad in their armor, Andy carrying the pixie dust at her waist. Lysander was quiet and reserved, but seething with inner anger against these dark ones who had dared to take his best friend away from him.

The two flew onward, into the forest where the trees and brush became extremely thick. Suddenly, without warning, the trees and bushes cleared and Andy and Lysander somewhat of a gathering in the open space. They exchanged glances and flew carefully towards the clearing.

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Terence looked at himself in the broken shard of glass in his cell. Nemesis had been true to her word and had entered twenty minutes later. She had brought in another dark one, a male, who had carried in the glass. Nemesis has taken his acorn cap; she'd that nothing was to remain of his "old life." This was another barb in his heart, as the hat had been given to him by another dust fairy, his mentor that had been killed by disbelief within Terence's first year in Pixie Hollow. The hat was all he had left from her. But Terence knew better than to argue with Nemesis, so did not fuss and let the hat go.

He looked at himself in the glass and felt his eyes well up with tears. Without his hat, he didn't feel like himself. With a jolt, he realized that he wasn't going to _be_ himself for much longer. He was dressed in the dark violet clothes, and they fit well, or so Nemesis had said. Terence had never paid much attention to his appearance.

"Come on honeycakes," Nemesis purred, stroking Terence's arm and brushing against the gash in his shoulder. Terence cried out. His shoulder was already in agony, the last thing he needed was for Nemesis to run her fingernails along his open wounds. He bit his lip and grit his teeth to keep himself standing upright. "So sorry, angel face," said Nemesis. "Now, let's get ready for this show."

She took his hand, the one attached to his good arm, and half-dragged him from the room. She took him outside and was annoyed at having to walk, as Terence could not fly on his ruined wings. "Sorry about the wings, sugar. After you change, your other injuries will heal after a week or so, but those wings will never heal. No one here is talented enough to heal something like that."

Terence moaned. Flying had always been one of his greatest joys, and now he'd never fly again. A tear had a chance to roll down his cheek, but Nemesis pulled him forward again to the center of the clearing. He looked around and recognized it as the area for "target practice" and shuddered. Nemesis snickered. "Remember this place? If you don't hold up your end of this deal, your precious Andromeda will end up here. And when I say end, I mean _end_."

Terence gulped. He nodded and said, "I know. You'll get what you want. I'm here."

"Yes, dear heart. You are here. And you'll be here forever."

Terence tried to hold back the tears, he really did, but he couldn't help himself. He had lost everything, and there was no hope of ever getting it back.

He stood on bruised legs in the center of the courtyard. Nemesis had an iron grip on his hands and seemed intent on crushing them, in case Terence decided that Andy's safety wasn't enough motivation to stay. Even if Nemesis wasn't crushing his hands, and even is his wings hadn't been crushed and torn, and even he hadn't been beaten senseless, the threat against Andy's safety was enough to make Terence do anything. Just the thought of Andy getting hurt was enough to make the tears start flowing again. He almost imagined he could hear her voice.

Nemesis was speaking an incantation that, when complete, would transform his body and soul into a dark one, and could only be completed by a kiss from another dark one. He had blanched when Nemesis had told him about this kiss, but a threat against Andy was enough to subdue him.

He knew he was moments away from a mental breakdown, so he imagined Andy's voice again, calling his name. He heard her clearly. Very clearly. _Too clearly,_ he thought. _Is that actually_... His eyes snapped open and he looked to his left, where he heard the voice coming from. His mouth fell open in shock. It was Andy! It was no hallucination, he was sure of it.

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Andy and Lysander sped through the clearing. Andy could feel Terence's pain. His misery hung in the air for her, and she felt it strongly. Then she saw him. At least, she though it was him. It was a sparrow man dressed in dark violet clothes. She almost bypassed him, but then she saw the golden hair and knew it was her Terence.

"Terence!" she called. "Terence!" She said his name five times before he turned and saw her. As he did, she took in the scene around him and instinctively knew that Nemesis was bent on taking Terence from her and making him a dark one.

She looked at Terence's face and saw the black and purple bruise there. He healer's intuition took in his other injuries in a few seconds. She saw the bruises, breaks and contusions on many of his bones. She saw the burns inflicted by Aricia. She saw the gash in his shoulder. Then she saw his crumpled, crushed, and ruined wings, and the huge tear in the side of the right one. Her worry for Terence's safety immediately turned to anger and fury at these horrible monsters for what they had done, and her thoughts turned to the pain she would inflict upon the one responsible: Nemesis.

Nemesis looked up at the same moment as Terence, and she saw the two fairies she knew to be a rescue party. How had they gotten here so quickly? They were not supposed to be here for another day… the scout from her coven must have been mistaken, and mistakes were heavily punished. Nemesis resolved to punish him well, after these interlopers were snuffed out.

She was still crushing Terence's hands in hers, and she used the force of her anger to throw him to the ground. And hit the ground he did. She had thrown him sideways, and by a stroke of unfortunate luck he had landed on his injured shoulder and crushed his wings again. Then again, luck hadn't been on Terence's side for a few days now, so he really shouldn't have expected anything else. But Andy was here… that had to count for something, right? He was sure it really was her, sure that this meant she cared for his friendship, even if she was in love with Lysander.

Lysander… that must be the reason he was here. He loved her, and so he wouldn't have let her go into the dark coven alone… Terence was hurt by his friend ignoring his feelings for Andy, but still glad that Lysander hadn't let her wander into danger alone. And danger there was.

Nemesis had drawn herself up to her full height now, and the rest of the coven was tensed, prepared to attack. Terence couldn't have moved if he tried, he was too badly hurt, and his ruined wings certainly would be of no use. He could only look on in horror as Nemesis spoke in a terrible war cry. "Do not attack. She is mine!" Terence's heart sank and tears filled his eyes. He knew Nemesis was more than capable of killing Andy on her own, and Andy was likely running low on pixie dust. Lysander, ever the honorable sparrow man, even to monsters such as the dark ones, hung back. Andy was on her own against Nemesis, and Terence felt certain of her death, and kept his eyes on his beloved, fearing that these were to be her last moments.

Andy saw Terence in a heap on the ground beneath the dark one who had spoken. She saw Terence look at this creature in fear, and up at herself with hurt and worry, and knew that this monster must be Nemesis, the dark one Queen Clarion had spoken of, the one that had hurt her Terence. If there were ever a time where extra pixie dust was appropriate, it was now. Andy reached for the pack at her waist, but before she could move to sprinkle any on herself, Nemesis rushed at her with a blood-curdling battle shriek.

Terence, weak with pain and fear, was slipping out of consciousness. Andy felt his struggle and turned to him. "Terence," she called. "No matter what happens, know that I love you, and I always will." _She loved him…Andy had said she loved him…wait. _This had to be a hallucination. There was no way Andy loved him, he'd seen her out under the stars with Lysander. He'd seen it with his own eyes. This was his mind playing tricks on him, it had to be.

But then, why was Lysander here? If Terence were going to daydream a heroic rescue from his beloved, why would Lysander be here? _This must actually be happening_, the thought. _Well, at least, some of it must actually be happening_. The rescue might be real, but he was still so in love with Andy that he was simply imagining that she felt the same way. Yes, that was it. But before he could do anything to warn Andy, Nemesis attacked. As hard as he tried to stay conscious, Terence felt his eyes closing, and the last thing he heard before the blackness took him was a battle cry from Nemesis. Believing it to be a cry of pain from Andy, he struggled to keep his eyes open, to move to help her, but the pain was too much, and he slid into darkness.

With her attention on the attacking fairy, Andy did not notice Terence's unconsciousness, and instead remembered what he had told her once about pixie dust and its raw power. As Nemesis came at her, Andy reached her whole hands into the pack and pulled the dust around her with her mind. The dust encircled her and shone in ribbons around her small frame. Andy shone a bright and brilliant gold, and shot streams of liquid golden magic at Nemesis that wrapped around her and held her at bay.

"No!" she screamed. "You're not even supposed to be here! I won, I'm supposed to have him, I won!"

At Nemesis' mention of Terence, Andy's fury reached its peak and she no longer sought to control it. Her love for Terence fueled the pixie dust's power and sent white-hot streams of pure magic at the dark one. Nemesis was enveloped in a cocoon of the most powerful magic known to Never Land, and there was no escape. She let out a cry of anger, and then vaporized into nothingness. As she disappeared from existence, every dark one fell into an instantaneous unconsciousness and dropped to the ground, out for the count.

Andy slowly sank to the ground, exhausted from her struggles against Nemesis. Lysander, realizing that none of the dark ones could hurt them anymore, rushed to her side to help her. "Terence," she said, as he helped her stand. "Where is Terence?" Lysander pointed, and she ran to his side. He was still unconscious, understandable when he had so many injuries. "Monsters," Andy whispered when she saw his cut shoulder and his torn wings.

"Yes," said Lysander. "Monsters they were and are. Andromeda, we need to get him to healers' grove as soon as possible. And figure out what is to be done with the rest of these monsters." He pointed out at the fifty or so unconscious dark ones that lay littered about the courtyard. "Let them rot," said Andy darkly. There was anger and malice there that Lysander had never heard before, and he was about to call her to task for it, but thought better of it when he thought of what he would do if someone had done this to Quicksilver. Kind and gentle as he was, he would want to kill them himself.

He went over to a dark one that was lying near his feet, and felt for a pulse. To his immense surprise, he found none. He checked another and the result was the same. "Andromeda," he called.

"What?" She was annoyed at the interruption, as she had been going over Terence's body with her hands looking for smaller injuries that she could heal right now with the pixie dust residue from her fight with Nemesis, in order to make the long journey more comfortable for Terence, even if he was unconscious.

"Andromeda, I do not think any of these dark ones are alive."

"What?" she said, incredulous.

"Just what I said. I've checked a few, and none seem to have a pulse. It must have been a residual effect of the combination of Nemesis' death and the effects of your magic. Not that this was your intention of course," he added upon seeing the look on her face. "Just that the magic of the pixie dust, when combined with your natural powers must have had something to do with this. Your love for Terence made that pixie dust more powerful than anything I've ever seen, and I have seen a great many things."

Andy drew a deep breath. It was true, she certainly didn't mean for the dark ones to be killed, but she was not sorry for their deaths either. She wondered if that made her as much of a monster as they were, but one look at Terence and her self-doubt vanished. She only hated them for what they had done to him. She had to get him home.

She and Lysander prepared to leave, Lysander by checking to make sure that his original assessment as to the death of the entire coven was true (it was) and making sure the armor and previsions were packed (they were), and Andy by going over Terence one more time to see if there were any other injuries that she could heal here, quickly, without the aid of her materials at her work station in healers' grove. There weren't, but she saw his shoulder and torn wing again and wanted to cry in hurt and anger at what Nemesis had done to him. If she was going to attempt a healing on his shoulder, or his wing, she needed to get him home.

Lysander suggested she fly on ahead of him, now that there was no threat there was no need to stay together. Andy readily agreed, and they decided that Lysander would take the supplies. The residue from the pixie dust from the battle should allow Andy to reach Pixie Hollow by twilight, and now that they knew exactly where they were going, Lysander should reach it by nightfall. Quicksilver might have something to say to her about letting Lysander fly alone, but Andy was worried about Terence… besides, Lysander was a big boy. He could take care of himself.

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As Andy flew into the outer reaches of Pixie Hollow she was greeted by a welcoming yell from Beroan, the animal talent that had discovered who had taken Terence. "Andy! Thank the second star, we've been so worried about you both." He looked behind her. "Where's Lysander?" He feared the worst until Andy told him she had flown on ahead, and the dark coven had been wiped out by the strength and power of the pixie dust she had carried and used to defeat Nemesis.

"Why did you fly on ahead?" Beroan asked, but then saw Terence's limp form in her arms and understood. "Never mind, I see. Here, how can help?"

Andy smiled gratefully. She didn't know how she would have reacted if he had tried to take Terence from her arms. "Fly to Queen Clarion. Please tell her that I've returned, and I'm taking Terence to healers' grove. Tell her Lysander is returning as well, he should be here by nightfall. Tell her the dark ones are no longer a threat to us. I'll explain more to her tomorrow, but I've got to take care of him, he's been hurt badly." This much Beroan could see, and he promised to do as Andy asked. He turned to fly away, but looked back once. "Andy?" he asked. "What is it?" she returned. "When Terence wakes up… tell him we're glad to see him safe. Tell him we're glad to have him home."

Andy smiled. "I will." And with that, she sped to healers' grove and set Terence in the bed at her station. She did her best to smooth out his wings as he lay down so he would be in as little pain as possible. She knew they shouldn't hurt at all, but something about her healer's intuition told her a dark one had done something to them to remove their natural protection. Besides, no Never fairy to her knowledge had ever torn a wing before. If she was going to try to heal it, and she was, she would have to wait for Terence to be conscious for that, just as she would for healing Terence's shoulder. She would wait for the big injuries, but she would heal everything she could before he woke up. She would make him whole again.

As she worked, she dipped into pixie dust reserves she had in drawers of the bedside table at her station. The table had been a gift from the tinkers, but the dust had been from Terence. She had known that they were friends, but she had never guessed the depth of his feelings for her, if indeed Lysander was right and Terence was in fact in love with her. She knew Lysander would never lie to her, but she wasn't quite ready to believe that Terence loved her so absolutely. Regardless, when he was better, she would tell him exactly how much he meant to her. No, she couldn't wait that long. She would tell him when he woke up. There, that was better. She could wait until then.

Until then, she would focus on his broken bones. There were many of them. His body knew where his bones and ligaments were supposed to be, so she did not need him conscious for these healings. She kept herself hydrated and worked painstakingly to make sure that each bone was healed, then used her powers to reinforce them, so they would not easily break again.

After many hours, Lysander entered, followed by Queen Clarion herself. Andy did not hear them; she was too focused on Terence to notice anyone else. Queen Clarion gently cleared her throat, causing Andy to jump a whole inch and turn around quickly, knocking over a vial of water in the process.

"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's all right, your highness," said Andy, using her talent to scoop the water off the floor and back into the vial. "How is he?" asked the queen, worry evident in her voice.

"Bad," replied Andy, "but not as bad as he could have been. I've done what I can for most of the small cuts and bruises, they're almost gone. I need him conscious to heal the big bruises, especially this one," she said, brushing her delicate fingers along his cheek where Gambit had thrown his silver ball. She continued, "I've been healing his bones for a while now… there's only one or two more that are broken, but his right forearm is broken clean through. That one's going to take some time. And speaking of his right arm, the gash in his shoulder is going to need some serious work as well. I need him conscious for that too." Queen Clarion nodded solemnly.

Lysander spoke up. "What about his wings?" It was then that Queen Clarion saw the damage done to Terence's wings. She saw the bends and crumpled folds, and then she saw the tear in the right one. "By the second star!" she gasped. "What…"

"I know," Andy replied grimly. "I can't think about what monster did this to him, but I want to try to fix it. Whatever happened to him there, I believe a dark one removed the protection our wings normally have. I can tell his wings are what's causing him the most pain. I'll definitely need him conscious for that… I want to ask him if he wants me to try to heal them. That will be his decision."

The queen nodded again. Andromeda was right, Terence was indeed hurt, but it could have been much worse. Nemesis had not killed him, and they should all be thankful for that. She asked Andy about the dark coven, and how they had escaped. Andy looked to Lysander and he told Queen Clarion the whole story. She was silent throughout, but gasped when she realized what Nemesis had wanted to do to Terence. "Why would he go through with it?" she said softly, more to herself than anyone else. Andy heard her, and truthfully had been wondering the same thing. Here, Lysander spoke once again. "Nemesis most likely threatened someone… probably you, Andromeda. Terence would do anything to keep you out of harm's way."

Queen Clarion looked at Lysander questioningly. "Terence loves her," he said simply. The queen thought to herself and realized that this explained why Andromeda was so insistent that she go to find him. She smiled at the young healer, but Andy was looking at Terence's face with tears in her eyes. "Oh Terence," she whispered. "Why would you do that for me? I wish they'd taken me instead…" she trailed off and took his hand in hers and brought it to her cheek.

"Come, Lysander," said Queen Clarion. "We should go and leave Andromeda to her work. We'll come back tomorrow." He nodded, but did not follow her out. Instead he went to Andy and laid a friendly and comforting hand on her shoulder. "Andromeda, you should rest."

She shook her head, clearing her eyes of the tears that had threatened to spill out. "No, Sander. Terence needs me. I've still got plenty of energy, and I should heal these last few broken bones as soon as possible. They'll heal better if I do it sooner." Lysander nodded, knowing that trying to convince her to leave was pointless anyway. Besides, Quicksilver had seen their arrival, and she had told him earlier that she had something to tell him. He was anxious to know what it was, although he had a faint idea. He trusted Andromeda's advice, but he was not ready to believe that Quicksilver truly loved him as much as he did her. Andromeda knew what she was doing. She was the most talented healer Pixie Hollow had ever seen. She could heal Terence, he knew it.

He smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "One last thing, Andromeda," he said, and placed a pile of brown and dark red clothes on the bedside table. "Those are Terence's clothes," said Andy.

Lysander smiled. "Yes, they are." He placed the top of an acorn on the pile as well.

"And his hat!"

"Yes, his hat." At Andy's look of surprise, Lysander continued, "Right after you left, I searched the coven for them. I knew Terence would want them back, especially that hat."

Andy smiled at Lysander's thoughtfulness, and thanked him from the bottom of her heart. She knew Terence would appreciate having his own clothes back. She would leave him in the clothes from the coven for now, and when he woke she would let him change, and help him if he needed it. Best to leave them on the table where he would see them when he woke up.

Lysander smiled at Andy, and thought about where to find Quicksilver. If he knew her, she would be in the autumn meadows, working off steam by making winds to chase leaves around in circles. And working off her worry for Terence until she could see him tomorrow. Thinking of Quicksilver and her habits of working off nerves, Lysander grinned and bid Andy goodnight. But she did not hear him. She had her hands on Terence's right forearm, using water and pixie dust to reseal the bones and stretch his ligaments and tendons back into place. Lysander smiled. Terence was in good hands. He was safe, and he was home.

Once Andy had healed his arm, that meant all of Terence's bones were again in one piece, as they should be. She stretched her arms and legs, stiff from sitting in one position for so long. She didn't care, as long as Terence was healing. She thought briefly about going home and returning in the morning, but quickly dismissed it. She knew she would never sleep with Terence in pain like this. And what if he woke up alone? That settled it, she was staying here. Even if she wasn't working, she was staying here. She would be here when he woke up, no matter what. She wouldn't let him be alone.

As she took his right hand in hers, she leaned over him and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Please wake up soon, Terence. Please… I love you." And even though she knew that he could not hear her, she almost believed that she saw his face relax and settle into a peaceful sleep eased from the pain he had felt for the last few days, finally seeing a bright spot on the horizon.

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**Whew… super long chapter. 5000+ words! That was tough to type… I think my finger muscles are seizing up. Oh well… you guys deserved an update. Thanks again for reading, and even more for reviewing… it makes me so happy when I get a review… like people actually care what happens in my work! So please review…**

**Lots of love to everyone who reads this story, and I hope your summers went well. Of course, there's still about a month of summer left. I'll try very hard to update soon… I promise. **

**Love and hugs to you all,**

**Shail**

**Ps – I love you Bella! **


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